Columbus Day weekend, forecast appears to be the last big weekend day before the weather starts to go downhill. Start out at 9:00 am, cold mid 40's. Overdress with the windbreaker instead of a vest. Temp's are supposed to go into the low 70's. Plan to do 50 miles. At mile 11 I proceed to do the toughest, unrelenting hill (at the recommendation of a "friend"). That kicked the starch out of me for a while. It was bad, especially considering I am 13 weeks into rehabbing from ACL replacement surgery. The knee held up, but it was the hammies and lungs are where the fitness was lacking. Anyway, I did the 50, through the Heldeberg Mountains of Albany County. Foilage views were amazing, as there was no clouds to be seen anywhere. The winter winds will soon be upon us.
Nice! Good luck on the recovery! We had a great weekend as well. I did get out Saturday for a nice and fairly flat 20 miles. I wish I could do more 40-50 milers on the weekend, but having a new child kind of eliminates that for the time being.
I have two boys. In the early summer, I get out at 4:30-5:00am and 50 miles isn't a problem. Get home at 9:00 am at the latest and no one really has moved a whole lot. With less sunlight, yes the long rides in the fall are hard to get. This one was a bit of a treat as I did a lot of housework on Saturday.
See, that's what I am thinking...getting out real early to accomplish it. Also, I currently work a 2nd job on Saturdays, which kills time as well. HOWEVER, that might be changing in the next couple of months and I plan on joining, at least for a few rides, the Twin Cities Bike Club.
For me, my second 'job' also kills the Saturday mornings in the fall. I run a 1100 player youth rec soccer league. I can usually get a 90-120 minute ride in later in the afternoon.
The weather here in ATX this past weekend was awesome. Early morning lows were in the upper 60's and the highs hovered close to 90 with very little humidity until last night. On Saturday afternoon we got about 80 miles in just over five hours. Not at all a blistering pace but a nice casual ride with some good friends. Yesterday morning I spent about an hour and a half on a cool down ride and my body is better for it today. Unlike you lucky guys I have no children to dedicate my time to. Just five cats and a wife that prefers I be on the bike instead of driving her crazy watching futbol matches in Spanish all weekend. I've got two days of commuting plus one nice moderately long solo ride on Thursday and then onto Negril!
Like clockwork. Next weekend we will barely break 50 degrees. Rides get shorter as the snot builds up in your nose and you go fast enough to create windchill.
I did one last tri on Columbus Day. That being said, the water temperature was still in the mid-70s. Not too bad for mid October. I have 4 kids, so long rides are few and far between.
The weather in WNY is great this morning. Warm breeze blowing. It would have been great to get out this morning. BTW, you guys with your "touring" bikes are really making me want to go out and get a nice one myself soon. I just can't do the long, steady rides on the fixed gear. It really beats my quads when changing speeds and going up/down inclines.
Agreed. All I have is my MTB. I'd love a road bike so I can hit the open road. But alas... I'm dead ass broke and my bike dreams will just have to wait.
WNY has a lot of great farmland and rolling hills to hit for rides. Long country roads. I get a lot of nice rides at the inlaws in the Monroe, Genesee, Livingston County areas. Too bad I wasn't cycling when I went to college out in Chataqua County.
The weather here in ATX the past couple of days has been rainy and muggy making commuting less fun. Later this afternoon I'm heading out to Bastrop/Buescher State Parks with my buddy Sean for about 40 miles of moderate hills. This is going to be my last chance for the next week to torture my legs so I'll push the pace pretty good. B/B state parks are an anomaly in that it's about the last bastion of pine forest in the state of Texas. With the weather being how it is, the already low traffic park should be virtually empty Pictures of the park:
Great ride! The weather never got above 69 degrees in the park and while it was bit humid it was far from uncomfortable. In 3.5 hours we saw a total of 11 vehicles with three being the same Texas Parks truck. Great day in the saddle with great legs to boot. Great way to start a vacation.
Did 30 miles yesterday (usual Thursday ride w/ guys from work) around the cities. Temp was probaly in the low 50's and with a cold breeze. We will probably be stopping in the next couple of weeks for the season.
Sunday, back to Eastern Standard Time. At least the warmest part of the day now comes an hour earlier. Brilliant Sunshine when tall autumn shadows weren't cast over the road. 46 degrees - 28 miles - 90 minutes. Two items for the christmas list - warmer jersey and shoe covers with a little ability to retain heat.
Well, maybe not this past Sunday, but I got 20 miles in. Headed out at around 11:30 AM. 25 degrees and sunny. Wasn't too bad for the first 10 miles. The last 10 miles, my feet were frozen - need some warmer booties and another pair of socks, but overall it was quite enjoyable.
Went out today and did a hair under 40 miles around Old Spicewood Springs loop. Nice hill work on two lane country roads inside of Austin. With the dense population Austin how has it's odd that such an area would still be mellow to ride. 55 degrees and an occasional gust of wind. It was nice to be back in the saddle.
Minivan is in the shop being repaired today. It is 11 degrees. Nice morning for a bike ride into work. Its only a few miles. Suprisingly, I was quite toasty.
What was the wind like? I enjoy cold weather but you're friggin' nuts. You upstate guys are a bit off kilter It was 74 degrees today and I should have been out on the bike. 11 degrees and toasty? I love the dedication.
Sun, very little wind. It wasn't bad. Actually got a little sweat going on the way home when it was 24 degrees. Simple mix of biking and skiing clothes and it was quite tolerable. If the wind started up it would have been a different story.
Got out yesterday for 33 miles of pure fun and suffering. Only one of my buddies chose not to flake out so we did a pretty hilly route. The wind was cranking pretty good yesterday and was only at our backs for the short downhill runs. My legs haven't hurt so bad in a long long time. Now to do it all over again tomorrow
I rode a couple of days ago when it was 19. I was bundled up like the Michelin man but it wasn't that bad. I was a bit slower than normal uphill, but I suppose that's to be expected when you're sucking in air that cold. All in all, I'd still prefer it to be 50 or so.
We just finally got into the 30's/40's this last week, but still a ton of ice/snow at the moment. I have just been training inside.
I just can't ride in the cold anymore and by cold I mean below 50 degrees. I used to love winter time but these days my lungs start aching too bad when I suck down all that cold air. I guess I'm just getting old. It's been raining pretty much all day which blows as I was actually going to ride my Fisher on some singletrack close to home so I can loosen up my legs a bit.